A new viral video released by Volvo Trucks has taken an unusual method of demonstrating the robust build of its vehicles – by standing company president Claes Nilsson on the front panel of an FMX construction vehicle dangling more than 70 ft up in the air by it’s front towing hook.
“I have to admit I had butterflies in my stomach and I certainly wondered more than once what I’d let myself in for,” Nilsson said. “I’m no mountain-climber and I don’t like heights, but I’d promised to do the stunt, so I couldn’t very well back out.”
Nilsson said the idea behind the film – called The Hook – is Volvo wanted to show the FMX’s front towing hook can handle far greater stresses than those to which it is normally subjected.
“It’s all about spotlighting the strength and quality of our construction trucks,” he said. “And you can’t do that more clearly than by hoisting the 15-tonne truck up into the air via its own towing hook!”
The film was shot from a helicopter in a closed-off part of Gothenburg harbour. “The difficulty is to shoot the entire film in one take from a helicopter,” said Filip Nilsson of Folke Film, who directed the video. “I’m really impressed by Claes, who stayed cool and focused throughout the two hours he was hanging in the air. I tried it myself, but just for 15 minutes – and it was scary!”
Watch the video on YouTube at http://tinyurl.com/phms2z8
